A new law meant to curtail the bullying of gay students in California schools became effective on January 1, 2012. This law is also called Seth’s Law, in memory of 13 year old Seth Walsh, who committed suicide in 2010 after being targeted and harassed by anti-gay classmates in school. Los Angeles criminal defense attorney Ann Gottesman is dedicated to protecting people’s legal and constitutional rights, and will aggressively work to protect those of yours and your loved ones.

Authored by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, AB-9, or Seth’s Law is designed to address the problem of school bullying by giving schools new tools to create a safe school environment for all California students. Under the provisions of Seth’s law, each school in California is required to implement anti-harassment and anti-discrimination policies and programs in regards to actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity expression. School districts are required to have a uniform process in place to deal with complains of gay bullying and the law mandates that school personnel intervene if they witness gay bullying.

While California laws against school bullying were already on the books before the passage of Seth’s law, gay bullying remains a pervasive problem in California’s school system. According to 2010 statistics reported by the California Safe Schools Coalition, 42 percent of students in the state who self-identify as lesbian, gay or bisexual and 62 percent who identify as trans-gender reported harassment in school on at least one occasion based on gender non-conformity.

Stricter rules on children’s behavior in school and the implementation of “zero-policy” rules, have led to more juveniles being arrested for behavior that was once thought to be typical “horsing around”.

If you have been charged for a crime as a juvenile or adult, please call the Law Office of Ann Gottesman for a free consultation. Ann is a criminal defense attorney skilled in representing those facing all kinds of criminal charges, including DUI’s, domestic violence, drugs, theft crimes, violent offenses, three strikes, violation of probation hearings, and much more.

You do not have to fight for your freedom and reputation alone! Call criminal defense lawyer Ann Gottesman today at 626-710-4021, or toll-free at 877-352-9669, for a FREE consultation.